Panzer Paladin

Panzer Paladin's pleasing retro-aesthetics and slick use of 80s anime tropes compliment its new ideas wonderfully.

Panzer Paladin's heavily old-school-flavored action is a blast from the past from beginning to end.

A worthy homage to the early Mega Man games, but some aspects of retro design would be better left in the old days

Tribute Games tapped into a treasure trove of classic games, and that adoration shines bright in Panzer Paladin. In a year already full of great action-platformers, this one shouldn't be skipped.

Panzer Paladin's uncomplicated gameplay won't be for everyone and there are some very minor niggles that hold it back from true greatness. Even so, it has heart, and that goes a long, long way. If you're into retro throwback games then you should really give this a try; Panzer Paladin is an unpretentious, exuberant action game from start to finish, and a must for genre fans.

I'm hoping Panzer Paladin gets ironed out post-release because despite the above paragraph, the game is a huge amount of fun when it works.

Oh my. What a waste of potential. Panzer Paladin could’ve been something special. While I’m a fan of the genre and visuals, the gameplay falls flat due to too many annoyances. The sluggish movement, clunky checkpoint system, useless upgrades, ineffective dodging mechanic, levels that feel way too long (especially if you can’t use the checkpoints); it’s just more frustration than anything else. If I can say good things about this game is bosses are challenging and fun and the overall presentation felt like playing a true old school game. The rest? It can get in the bin. Unless you want to torture yourself, this is a pass.

Retro games had some elements that are outdated by today’s standards, but offers a rigorous training those well-versed in side-scrolling platformers. An excellent game overall that has unfortunate side effects of some outdated retro mechanics, but definitely worth every dollar.

Panzer Paladin is a faithful recreation of 2D NES platformer games that offers one of the best retro experiences in years.

Is Panzer Paladin worth the price of admission? Well, although it does make use of the Mega Man formula, it doesn’t really do much with it and even lacks the elements that made those games memorable. Still, at least it captures the look and sound of games from the 8-bit era. In short, wait until a flash sale and you have time to kill because you could easily beat this game within an hour or so.